


A bit of a Switch

by PaisleyWraith



Series: Paisley's ChaosVerse [3]
Category: South Park
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23339812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaisleyWraith/pseuds/PaisleyWraith
Summary: In a City where Villains rule and run, it can be difficult to be one of the few people solely in a Heroic alignment. Butters is forced to confront his own morals as he answers the awkward questions of his new sidekick.Based on Bit of Chaos' Universe.
Relationships: Clyde Donovan/Leopold "Butters" Stotch, Craig Tucker/Tweek Tweak, Kyle Broflovski/Kenny McCormick
Series: Paisley's ChaosVerse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616575
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	A bit of a Switch

The young hero grabbed his friend’s hand, pulling him around the corner as a blast of white-hot light missed them by inches. 

Skin still stinging from the heat, The Paladin stumbled over stray boxes, dropping Dougie’s hand to avoid pulling him down onto the ground. 

“Okay, so that guy’s a problem,” Melting-Elemental hero Scoria kicked boxes out of the way, slamming his back against the brick walls, “Elemental?” 

“Yeah,” Butters wiped the grit from his face, “That’s Exodus. He’s a biiig problem.” 

“We can take on an Elemental,” Dougie was hopping on both his feet, psyching himself up, “You and me, Boss. Make my big intro into the city.” 

“Yeah, well he’s also Psychic,” Butters peered around the corner, “And if _he_ shows up, it’ll be a problem.” 

“There’s a lot of ‘he’s’ we don’t want to show up,” His friend said helpfully, “Gotta be more specific.” 

Paladin shook his head, shimmering green cloak fluttering. 

“Alright,” Scoria slapped his palms against the wall, “I’m going out there.” 

“Oh, gosh,” The Healer fretted. “Oh you couldn’t pick a better first fight?” 

“Get ready for some major property damage!” Scoria shouted in delight, leaping into the streets with vigor. 

Metal light poles bent like trees in a whirlwind, splitting apart and melting into a fluid form. 

The black-clad Villain at the end of the street paused, obscured face giving no secrets as molten metal floated in bizarre shapes above the street.

Shimmering, glittering blobs formed themselves into beautiful shapes, sharp and intimidating and at the whim of a young, green hero. 

Exodus stood without flinching, tightening his wristguards and watching. 

He was planning something. Butters hopped into the air at the ready for an assist, hands twisting and knuckles cracking.

“Well, are you going to surrender?” Dougie shouted impressively, voice still slightly pitched in youth. 

Exodus lifted his eyes. 

The glow was all the warning Paladin got. 

Metal sheets were split down the middle with the burst of a laser, the Villain’s mask alight with hot-blue flames as they stared the duo down. 

“Gotta be faster than that,” Butters coached his companion, “He’s quick, go quick.”

“You could help!” Scoria sent shards of nearby street signs flying towards the Villain. 

A blast of wind nearly took the two boys off their feet. The gale increased, louder and louder, until it thundered in their ears and sent shimmering spears of metal cartwheeling back down the street. 

Butters hit the ground, bracing himself against the nearest bus stop. The wind tore at his cloak, digging through his uniform like cold claws. 

“Paladin!” Dougie was backing away as parked cars began to slide backwards down the street. 

“I can’t,” Butters tumbled over the words as he shouted back, “I’m on thin ice already!”

“Thin ice with who?” The newbie asked incredulously. 

“Ahh, you don’t get it,” Butters scrubbed at his cheeks, tapping his fingers against his lips, “You can’t just go around here-”

Scoria yelped, knocked off his feet as Exodus advanced, loose clothing billowing around his person. 

Lightning skittered down the street, sending the Elemental backing away. 

“Hello?” Scoria pulled himself up to a knee, shouting in absolute bewilderment, “Who the fuck is this?” 

“Aw, geez,” Paladin muttered to himself, far too quietly to hear over the storm. 

Tweek, the unstable Power of Unstable Alignment, sent another skittering purplish bolt to send Exodus further back. 

“Tweek,” Paladin darted out to help his friend up, “He’s some kinda ex-child star or somethin’. I don’t normally count on his help but he’s fighting Exodus so let’s go-”

“I’m not leaving yet,” Scoria lightly pulled his arm away, incredulous, “We came here to fight! Let’s take down Exodus!” 

Blasts of ice were firing down the street behind them as Butters gently tried to explain to his friend: 

“You don’t fight Exodus,” He fretted, “First off, he’s son of a big Supervillain from the Old Days, can’t touch him-”

“I don’t care, Paladin, we’ve fought worse than some rich kid leeching off his parents!” Dougie was bouncing on the balls of his feet. “What are you so scared of?” 

The air around them was so chilly that Butters could see his breath. Ooh. He knew it wasn’t because of Tweek. 

“Dougie, we need to go,” He said seriously, just as Tweek cried out in pain. 

The area around them was dark. Their visual distance was fading, beginning to obscure the storefronts around them. 

“Yeah, you got it Boss, let’s go,” Scoria grabbed his friend’s arm back, “Yeah, I know who this is, you don’t have to tell me-”

Out of the shadows, a tall, menacing figure stepped. Writhing limbs sprouted from the ground like wailing roots, capable of tearing a man in half and having done so many times before. 

The man, if it is a man, steps forward with the grace of a cat, silent and steady, unphased and completely in control. 

Paladin swallows, hoping they could somehow move quietly enough that he wouldn't notice they were there. 

“He’s been shadowing Exodus lately,” Butters whispered to Dougie as they jogged in the opposite direction, “I don’t know why, he never works with people.” 

Tweek screamed again behind them, half pain, half frothing rage. 

Dougie hesitated. 

“ _NO_.” Paladin said sternly. “Absolutely not- don’t even- Dougie!” 

The boy darted under his arm, leaving him scrambling by himself in the darkness. 

“Oh, don’t do this,” Butters covered his mouth, unable to even see feet in front of him anymore. He didn’t know how dangerous this was. He might think he knew enough from watching, from stories, he didn’t. Butters hadn’t. 

He had no idea. 

He couldn’t let his friend try to face down Mysterion _and_ Exodus. 

“Ohhhh…” Paladin groaned as he darted into the void. 

Sliming limbs inched towards his boots. He ignored them, avoiding touching them entirely and speeding down the street. 

Purplish lightning lit the mist surrounding them, like a demonic thundercloud. Butters leapt over a mass of darkness to see Dougie standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the unstable Elemental. 

Shards of metal glittered in the air, reflecting purplish light in an ethereal glow. 

Exodus stepped forward, a slow wind fluttering at the edges of his uniform. 

He didn’t cross Mysterion. He didn’t, not anymore, he’d chosen his side of darkness in a stupid show of…of whatever it was he had for Exodus. Butters just didn’t step into that circle anymore. 

Narrowed, smug eyes find his, taunting. Knowing that. 

Paladin glanced towards his friends, waiting to see where Mysterion will appear next. 

Tweek seemed fine with having the younger child next to him, even forming an ice shield around both of their forms. Dougie was shouting, trying to taunt the ex-Vigilante from the shadows. 

Butters exhaled. 

Exodus was ignoring him, expecting him to shrink away, approaching the two encircled by Mysterion’s darkness. 

Butters finally activated his powers. 

Unlike Tweek’s quick, skittering flight of light, his took so long to charge. But it was bright, yellowish, a starlight among the pitch blackness around. 

Exodus paused, quick gaze on the Elemental/Healer again. 

No going back now. 

Exodus darted for him, eyes beginning to glow, and Paladin leapt into the air, well above striking range. 

More purple from his peripheral vision, as he rose up, trying to draw Exodus away. 

Power lit in his veins, warming his shoulders, down his arms, stiffening his muscles with the strain of containment. 

Butters let the strike fly, dodging blue light by so few inches that his skin burned all along his right side. 

Heavy bolts of true lightning hit the ground, chipping away the first layer of concrete and heading towards the Villain. 

Exodus unfurled his uniform's wings, a blast of wind sending him well out of the way of the light. 

And directly into Butters. 

Paladin hit the ground hard, everything going white as his body immediately struggled to Heal itself from it’s injuries. 

Exodus dragged him along the ground, bodily forcing his skin to scrape concrete and cobblestone until his head hit the curb. 

Butters struggled, dizzy, Healing factor working so quickly it was generating heat in his shoulders and head. He was tiring already. 

“So you can fight,” Exodus sneered, “Don’t quit now. This is embarrassing.” 

“Shut up!” Butters took a swing that the Elemental/Psychic dodged with distain. 

“Get back up,” Exodus ordered, “If you’re going to fight me, actually fight. Your little kid friend is doing better than you are.” 

He had a boot on Paladin’s chest, arms crossed and head tilted. 

Butters had quickly found out that when caught it was better to not do anything at all. You got to live, that way. 

Not like anyone else would come to your rescue. 

A roach crawled over Paladin’s face, causing him to shriek and bat it off. 

Exodus stared at him, taking a breath to comment before backing away entirely. 

Sliming creatures wormed their way from the ground, crickets leaping down the stones and spider shoving themselves through cracks in the street. 

Butters bolted up, forgoing touching the ground entirely to float in the air. 

“Would you stop?” Exodus shouted at the air, “You’re starting to get real fucking annoying!” 

The answer was a swarm, a flow of flying insects that hit the sides of Butters’ face, threatened to crawl inside his mouth, nose, and ears. 

He grabbed his own cape, covering his face against in slow wave of bugs. Blinking against them, he watched as they descended the darkness, pushing Exodus back. 

“We agreed this was my part of the town,” Plague stepped into the mist, start scarlet red against the darkness. “We agreed! Are you going to keep your promise or what?” 

“I was attacked,” Exodus drew himself up haughtily, “So it’s fair. It’s self defense.” 

“I’ll take care of it,” Plague tapped his foot, impatient. “Can you tell Mysterion to back off from the darkness? I know you’re Exodus, and he’s darkness, and I’m Plague, but this is real kitchy. People’ll think we’re teaming up or something.” 

“God,” Exodus visibly wrinkled his nose. “Forbid.” 

“Right,” The two Villains, now amiable, looked out over the battlefield. 

“You wanna go get Mysterion?” Plague offered. “We’ll take Tweek out of it.” 

Exodus’ quick eyes flit back to Butters, floating awkwardly in the air. 

Plague met his eyes, the first time he’d ever seen him in person even after all this time in the city. 

The newly-instated Supervillain shrugged. 

“He doesn’t look like he’s doing much fighting,” The Power-Draining Communicator smiled. “Call off the beast? Please?” 

Exodus sighed, unclipping his wings again and shooting into the air out of sight. 

Plague didn’t move, stretching like he just had a muscle cramp. 

Butters took a breath, about to awkwardly greet him, as the fighter known only by his rank, The Brutalist, emerged and walked calmly towards the two still-fighting figures. 

Ah. Butters chewed his lip. People speculated that The Brutalist had a Thing with the self-serving Hero Tweek. Was this…like…part of it, or was- well, there had to be another explanation but he sure couldn’t think of one. 

He looked back at Plague, who was watching him curiously. 

“I’ve seen you before,” The boy said rudely, “You’re horrible at fighting.” 

“Yeah.” His old days as Coon’s sidekick was…well known. He could feel his face heat. “I’ve gotten better.” 

“Doesn’t look like it,” The young Supervillain shrugged at him. “You really shouldn’t let your friend do all the fighting. He looks super young.” 

Butters cringed. 

“You’re going to be responsible for him if he’s new,” Plague told him seriously, even pulling down his mask to do so. “He’s got good powers for this.” 

He was kinda pretty, in a boyish way. He looked young, but he had to be around his own age, with all super soft eyes and a pretty face that just didn’t seem suited for someone who like taking vengeance on those he didn’t like. 

“He’s lucky he helped Tweek. Brutalist won’t hurt him.” He continued, not seeming to notice the Paladin’s blatant staring. 

Oh! Brutalist. Yikes.

“Unless he starts it,” Butters fretted, “He’s real eager.” 

“Better stop him,” Plague warned, “Brutalist’s been bored lately.” 

Paladin could see now with the mist dissipating, landing heavily beside his friend who was now trading words with Brutalist. 

“Scoria, we gotta go,” Butters startled his pal, watching the boy jump. 

"Boss!" The boy burst, "You're okay!" 

Tweek, for his part, was also speaking to Brutalist and he was real grateful for it. 

“What the fuck is happening?” Dougie asked his friend as Plague walked by, approaching a grouchy-looking Exodus and his silent shadow. 

“Look,” Butters’ grip on his friend’s arm had to hurt, “When a city’s run by Villains you gotta pick and choose when to fight.”

Dougie grimaced, pulling away. 

“No one’s gettin’ hurt here but us,” He pleaded, “Let it go, Scoria. Let’s leave it here.” 

The boy hesitated, looking over at the two closest villains. 

Brutalist scowled, picking at the ugly scars on his face. Tweek was shivering, looking both tired and extremely pissy. 

“Get out of here,” The latter snapped at them, voice oddly jilting and quick, “You won’t get another chance.” 

Exodus was eyeing them again, in conversation with the shorter Supervillain. 

Plague was watching him as well, weirdly closely, over his pulled-up scarlet mask. 

Dougie’s shoulders slumped. 

“It feels like losing,” He whispered to his friend, who nearly laughed in relief. 

“Sometimes,” Paladin slung an arm around his shorter friend’s shoulders, “Losing is the closest we can get to winning.”


End file.
